Web 2.

0 Technology and
Form of Collaboration
Presented by: Igol McIntosh
Andre Hansle
Andre Miller
Anthony Sanchez
Jermaine Montaque
Objective:

 To describe what web 2.0 technology is

 Explain how collaboration and web 2.0 interlink
 Give a brief description on some of the most
used technologies
 Identify the advantages and disadvantages of
these technologies
 Explain Collaborative Software and the Concept
of Groupware
Introduction
 Web 2.0 (or Web 2) is the popular term for advanced Internet
technology and applications including blogs, wikis, RSS and social
bookmarking. The two major components of Web 2.0 are the
technological advances enabled by Ajax and other new applications
such as RSS and Eclipse and the user empowerment that they
support.
 In general, the key characteristics of Web 2.0 are:
 · Web-based applications can be accessed from anywhere
 · Simple applications solve specific problems
 · Value lies in content, not the software used to display content
 · Data can be readily shared
Intro Con’t
Distribution is bottom-up, not top-down
· Employees and customers can
access and use tools on their own
· Social tools encourage people to
create, collaborate, edit, categorize,
exchange, and promote information
· Network effects are encouraged; the
more people who contribute, the better the
content gets
What is Web 2.0?
 Web 2.0 is an enhancement of the existing Internet. To break it
down into a simple definition, Web 2.0 is a system in which online
users become participants rather than mere viewers. With Web 2.0,
information can be pulled from a number of different places, and it
can be personalized to meet the needs of a single user. Applications
can be built on the existing applications that comprise the Web 2.0
interface. Web 2.0 allows the mass population to communicate with
each other and spread ideas rather than receiving their information
from a single authority.
 There are number of different types of web 2.0 applications
including wikis, blogs, social networking, folksonomies, podcasting
& content hosting services. Many of the most popular websites are
Web 2.0 sites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace,
Flickr.
What is "collaboration"?
 To collaborate means to work with others
on a non-routine cognitive task — that is,
working together.

Why is collaboration important?

 The augmentation of human capability [through
collaborative tools and architecture …] is nothing
less than a survival issue for our species. We
face some really serious challenges.
System Description: Collaboration Technologies
Videoconferencing
Software and hardware the that allow parties to meet
electronically with both picture and voice

Supported Activities
• Stand-alone Videoconferencing
• High quality, typically very expensive systems using
dedicated microphones, cameras and hardware.
• Can support meetings between several people and
locations simultaneously
• Desktop Videoconferencing
• Lower quality, relatively inexpensive systems using a
PC, small camera, and a microphone or telephone for
voice communication
• Allows two individuals to communicate from a desktop
System Description: Collaborative
Techs (Groupware)
Groupware
Software that enables people to work together more effectively

Supported Activities
These systems come in two types:
• Asynchronous Groupware – Systems that do not
require users to be on the system working at the same
time including: e-mail, newsgroups, workflow automation,
group calendars, and collaborative writing tools
• Synchronous Groupware – Systems that allow and
support simultaneous group interactions including shared
whiteboards, electronic meeting support systems, video
communication systems
System Description: Groupware
System Description: Groupware Benefits
System Examples – Groupware
collaborative tools and Web 2.0
technologies Examples:
 • Calendaring
 • Collaborative Authoring (e.g. Google Docs, 37signals Writeboard)
 • Discussion forums
 • Email
 • File shares (e.g. disk space for document storage, file servers, web-based
file
 storage)
 • Instant messaging
 • Institutional Repositories (e.g. DSpace)
 • Issue Tracking (e.g. ticketing systems, to-do lists)
 • Knowledge bases
 • "Live" collaboration tools (e.g. electronic whiteboards, screen sharing tools
such as
 TeamSpot)
 • News Aggregators/Feed Readers
 • Personal Portals (e.g. UPortal/NetVibes)
 • Photo Sharing (e.g. Flickr)
 • Podcasting (e.g iTunesU)
 • Project Portfolio Management systems
 Project management systems (e.g. Microsoft Project, including
Gantt and PERT
 charts )
 Social Bookmarking (e.g. Del.icio.us)
 Social Networking (e.g. FaceBook, MySpace)
 Surveys/Quizzes/Polls (e.g. SurveyMonkey, Zoomerang)
 Time tracking (e.g. milestones, team member work breakdown)
 Version control systems
 Video Sharing (e.g. YouTube)
 Web/video conferencing (e.g. WebEx)
 Weblogging ("blogging") tools
 Wikis
Brief description on some of the most
used technologies :
 Wikis
 A wiki is a collaborative website that anyone
within the community of users can contribute to
or edit. A wiki can be open to a global audience
or can be restricted to a select network or
community. Wikis can cover a specific topic or
subject area. Wikis also make it easy to search
or browse for information. Although primarily
text, wikis can also include images, sound
recordings & films. Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org the free internet
encyclopedia is the most well known wiki.
 Blogs
 A blog is a contraction of the words web log.
Blogs usually provide commentary or information
on a particular issue, event or topic. In some
cases, blogs can be about a particular person;
an online, public, personal diary. A blog is
usually maintained by a single person or a small
group of contributors. Visitors to the blog can
comment on the entries made or respond to
comments made by other visitors. Blogs are
primarily text but can also be the form of photos
or other images, sounds, or films.
 Social Networking
 Social networking allows an individual to create
a profile for themselves on the service and share
that profile with other users with similar interests
to create a social network. Users can choose to
have public profiles which can be viewed by
anyone or private profiles which can only be
viewed by people that the users allow. Users
can usually post photographs, music and videos
on their site. Popular social network services
include Facebook www.facebook.com and
MySpace
 Mashups: Websites or applications that combine
content from one or more sources. For example,
Cellreception.com combines Google Maps with
a database of 124,000 cell phone tower
locations to help users determine where mobile
coverage is strong — and where it isn't.

 RSS: Shorthand for "Real Simple Syndication,"

RSS is a protocol that makes it easy for
computer users to receive content from their
favorite providers whenever the content is
updated. Instead of having to remember to visit
a website to read a favorite column, watch a
video, or listen to an audio program, RSS lets a
user subscribe to the content so it's delivered
automatically. The flow of content the user
receives is called an "RSS feed."
 AJAX: An acronym derived from "Asynchronous
JavaScript and XML." AJAX is an important
underlying technology used to create interactive
Web applications. Ajax is what enables Web 2.0
sites to behave dynamically, so that they feel
more like computer programs than static web
pages. Like the way Google Maps lets you drag
elements across the page? That's AJAX in
action.
 Atom: A format for the syndication of online
content, atom functions as a newer alternative to
RSS (described below).
 Tags: User-generated keywords used to
describe online content. Tags make it easier for
both humans and search engines to find relevant
and related information.
 XML: An abbreviation for "Extensible Markup
Language," XML is a programming code for
online data that preserves the structure and
formatting of a digital document regardless of
whatever application is used to read it. XML is
an important enabling technology for RSS feeds
(described above).
 Advantages of Web 2.0 and Collaborative
technologies:
 Based on the information given above it should be easy to see
the advantages of this system.
 Information will flow freely and people can express their ideas
without fear of repression.
 Web 2.0 would make the internet a true democratic system.
 The population as a whole would become more informed.
Instead of getting information from one source, you can acquire
it from multiple sources. A good example of this is the ability to
read newspapers from various countries other than the one
you reside in so you can view events from more than one
perspective.
 Unlike web 1.0 , success with web 2.0 depends less on new
and untested technology investments and more on reaping the
power of new forms of business models.
Disadvantages of web 2.0 and
collaborative technologies
 If your connection should go down, how will you access
the information that you come to depend on? Because
many web services will be offered for free, they won't be
secure, and they could easily be targeted by hackers.

 Sharing is also an issue that will become controversial.

What happens when users begin sharing information that
is copyrighted? How will people be paid for the work they
do? If videos, music, movies, and other information can
be shared freely, how can a profit be generated? These
are challenges that people will have to face once Web
2.0 is introduced.
Collaborative Software (Groupware)

 Definition: Collaborative software, also

known as groupware, is the term used to
describe a range of software applications
designed to allow multiple users to
collaborate on related tasks on either local
or remote servers.
Concept of Groupware
 As enterprises become more diffuse (through regional, national
or multi-national expansion) collaboration between dispersed
groups of employees can become problematic. In order for
growing enterprises to best utilise the knowledge and skills held
within a decentralised workforce it is necessary to implement
technologies and strategies that allow employees to
communicate and collaborate across geographical boundaries.

 The development of communication technologies such as e-mail,

video conferencing and the Internet has led to the development
of collaborative software that facilitates the sharing of knowledge
and information between these geographically dispersed groups
of people, allowing them to work together towards the attainment
of a single goal.
Features of Groupware
 While many different types of applications
come under the umbrella term
‘groupware’, each of these applications
typically shares the same general
characteristics.

* Centralised Data Storage

*Communication Enablement
* Problem Solving Capabilities
Applications of Groupware
 Perhaps one of the best examples of groupware would be an
application used in the development of software. Software programs
are almost universally developed by multiple team members, as the
programs are usually too large to be written by a single developer
(at least for complex commercial software).

Clearly, when multiple users work on the same software program it

is vital that there be adequate communication between team
members, as even the slightest errors can create faults in the
program. Implementing version control in the groupware can ensure
that a complete history of the program can be held in the central
storage location for use in the event of any errors.
Other Uses for Groupware

 The groupware described above would generally be termed a

collaborative management tool – that is, an application that aids an
enterprise in the management of a project using geographically
dispersed members. While these tools are essential for
decentralised enterprises, collaborative software can also be of
great use in the creation of collaborative media knowledge bases
such as wikis.
By allowing multiple users to access and modify a knowledge base
(millions of users, in the case of public knowledge bases such as
Wikipedia), it becomes possible to organically collect the explicit
knowledge held within its contributors.
 In what ways are companies utilizing Web
2.0 tools and technologies to improve both
internal collaboration between users,
systems and departments, and external
collaboration with suppliers, partners and
customers?
 As these new Web 2.0 tools are
introduced within an organization, what
problems and issues typically arise and
how would you recommend avoiding them
in order to have the most successful
implementation?